Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
by silver-sweetheart
Summary: Hermione Granger is a woman now, and is looking back on her time at Hogwarts. At this moment in time, she is remembering the night that her best friend, Harry Potter, died at the hands of Lord Voldemort and what happened afterwards.


**Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder…_Much _Fonder**

There was a huge loud bang and Harry's body was thrown up into the air. I screamed. His body then landed with a sickening _wham _on to the ground.

"Harry!" I yelled out to my best friend. There was no answer. I convinced myself that he was unconscious.

Voldemort laughed a cruel, high pitched laugh. I didn't know it at the time, but that laugh was going to haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life.

"What have you done to Harry?" I burst out. Voldemort smirked.

"What do you think?" he answered.

He certainly looked very happy, as if he had achieved something he had wanted to do for a long time. But that meant…

"You killed him!" I cried.

Voldemort nodded and his evil smile stretched.

My heart sank. Tears prickled at the back of my eyes. Harry was my best friend, I loved him, he couldn't be gone. I needed him.

_Wait a minute. Did I just say to myself that I loved him?_

I ran towards Harry's body and knelt down beside him. I took his hand and stroked it lovingly. I hated, loathed, _despised _Voldemort. He would pay for hurting Harry, the man I love.

_The man I love?_

"Get used to it, mudblood. Everyone dies at some point," hissed Voldemort.

I gripped Harry's hand tightly, wishing he could wake up and curse Voldemort for hurting him.

Sadly, Harry didn't do anything of the sort. I wished he would. Oh Harry, do it for your girlfriend!

_And would his girlfriend happen to me?_

"But why…why did you kill him?" I swallowed and forced myself to meet Voldemort's eyes.

Voldemort sighed deeply and looked at me for a while.

"You remind me so much of Lily," he said weakly.

I narrowed my eyes at him and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't know this as I never told anyone, but, when I was at Hogwarts, I was deeply in love with Lily P-Evans."

"_You? _In love?"

"Yes, girl," snapped Voldemort. "I so wanted to go on a date with her, even though she was one or two years younger than me. But she had feelings for James, I think."

"Naturally," I spat. "You're revolting. No one could love someone as evil as you."

"You do realize, mudblood, that I can kill you with a swish of my wand?" said Voldemort softly.

I knew that, but I didn't care. Anything to be with Harry again.

_What on earth do I mean?_

"We are very similar, you and I, you know," Voldemort continued.

I took a few steps away from, biting my lip.

"W-w-what do you mean?" I stuttered.

"Well, we're both in love with people we can't have," said Voldemort sadly. "I knew I could never have Lily, but I still went on wanting her. She didn't have to die. She could have joined me…I could have just killed Harry and we could have got married…then neither of us would be here now, would we?"

"But how am I in love with someone I can't have?" I questioned, running my fingers through Harry's hair.

"Him, of course!" Voldemort looked at Harry as if he was a piece of dirt. I hated that look on his face.

"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AT HARRY LIKE THAT, LIKE HE DOESN'T EVEN MATTER! HE MIGHT NOT MATTER TO YOU, BUT HE DOES TO _ME! _SO JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" I found myself bellowing at him.

_Hermy, why are you being so silly over Harry? I think you like him more than a friend…_

Voldemort began to laugh his horrible laugh again. I began to cry again. Ron, who was unconscious by the door, stirred. He sat up.

"What's going on?" he said groggily.

"Harry's dead," I whispered, and flung my head in to Harry's chest, sobbing hysterically.

"You…you…you…" menaced Ron.

"I…I…I…" Voldemort mimicked.

"You Harry killer!" bellowed Ron.

Voldemort snorted with laughter, and Ron's ears went scarlet.

"Come, Weasley," laughed Voldemort. "I wish to duel with you."

"Ron, don't!" I cried.

Ron walked towards me and gave me a hug.

"Hermione, if I die, I just want to say…I love you," he murmured.

If I had been expecting anything, it definitely wasn't this. Ron? Love me? It didn't make sense.

He leaned and kissed me. I didn't respond to his kiss at all. I wasn't sure of what to do or say. In the end, the weak Hermione inside of me just decided to go along with the situation to make Ron better.

"I love you too!" I smiled encouragingly at him. Ron waved his hand in his thanks and stood, wand raised, facing Voldemort.

"Let the battle commence!" shouted Voldemort.

I couldn't bear to have Ron killed, I knew Voldemort would show no mercy on him.

"Harry," I whispered. "Harry, if you can hear me, please help. Please."

Almost immediately after I said these words, a sword appeared on the ground beside Harry's body. I picked it up. On the side it read: _Godric Gryffindor._

It was the sword Harry had pulled out of the Sorting Hat in the second year, when he had been in the Chamber of Secrets with Tom Riddle. I knew this because Harry told Ron and I everything after this big adventure of his.

_Thank you, Harry. I don't care what happens, but I love you. I love you with all my heart. I'll marry Ron, I'll have children, I'll get a good job, but I'll never stop loving you._

I looked up and watched Voldemort torture Ron. I took the sword and slowly crept up behind Voldemort. I raised it above his neck, then slowly drove it in. Blood seeped out on to my robes, and on to the floor. I heard Ron gasp, and Voldemort slowly fell to the ground, yelling in pain all the way. When his whole body was on the ground, he finally silenced.

I was in total shock, and I think Ron was too. I had just killed someone. Me, Hermione Granger! Killed someone! What would my parents say? And I hadn't just killed any old person, I had killed Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard of our time.

"Did I just do that?" I muttered.

"Yeah," croaked Ron.

"Crikey!"

Ron laughed and then slowly walked towards Harry's body. I followed him and sat down next to Harry again.

"He was a great mate," said Ron.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"I'll miss him."

"Me too."

There was an awkward pause. I took Harry's hand again and then leant forwards and kissed him softly on the lips. I was sure I felt him respond, but when I checked his pulse I felt nothing.

"Did you love him?" asked Ron, looking guilty.

"Um…" I wasn't sure whether to tell Ron or not. These were my private feelings for Harry. "No. I was just saying goodbye."

"Who do you love?" Ron probed me.

_Harry. I'll never love anyone in my life more than I loved Harry._

I looked over at Ron, hoping he could read my mind. He reached and took my arm. I immediately started to cry. Ron pulled me across Harry's body, so that I was sitting next to him.

"Sh, don't cry, Herm. We'll both miss Harry, but at least we have each other," he said soothingly.

He kissed me for a second time, his tongue exploring the inside of my mouth. Then,

"Come on, Herm. Let's get out of here and get married."

I followed him to the exit, holding tightly on to his hand. But I turned around for one last goodbye to Harry.

I waved at his body and mouthed, "I love you. Bye."

I did marry Ron, and we did have children. A girl, Lisa, and a boy, Harry. It was me who chose Harry's name. When Ron and I split up, we split the children between us. I had Harry, and Ron had Lisa. I did not change my surname back to Granger either. I changed my entire name to:

_Hermione Potter._


End file.
